Manually operable dry shaver



May 9, 1961 G. w. KESSON 2,933,041

7 MANUALLY OPERABLE DRY SHAVER Filed March 13, 1959 I s Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

GORDON W KESSON May 9, 1961 G. w. KESSON MANUALLY OPERABLE DRY SHAVER 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1959 FIG INVENTOR.

GORDON W. KESSON y 9, 1961 G. w. KESSON 2,983,041 MANUALLY OPERABLE DRYSHAVER Filed March 13, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

GORDON W. KESSON United States Patent O MANUALLY OPERABLE DRY SHAVERGordon -W. Kesson, Greenwich, New South Wales, Australia, assignor ofone-tenth to Gadget-Of-The-Month Club, Inc.', North Hollywood, Calif., acorporation of California Filed Mar. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 799,332

2 Claims. (Cl. 30-43) The present invention consists of an improvedmanually operable shaver which, in one preferred form, is normallyintended to be operated as a dry shaver, although not specifically solimited. In otherwords, the apparatus of the present invention isadapted for use in shaving any selected skin area normally bearingwhiskers or hair without requiring any driving motor as is the case inone prior art type of dry shaver which is usually powered by anelectrical motor. Furthermore,

the improved manually operable dry shaver of the present invention doesnot require that the whiskers to be shaved be first moistened with waterand/or shaving cream, soap suds, or the like, as is the case with priorart conventional razors of either the straight razor or the safety razortype.

Thus, it can readily be seen that the improved manu ally operable dryshaver of the present invention provides a shaver particularly welladapted for sportsmen, outdoorsmen, or the like, or any other person whodoes not have conveniently at hand electric power to run a conventionalprior art electric dry shaver or who does not have conveniently at handa quantity of hot water and having cream, soap, or the like, for usewith conventional razors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved manuallyoperable dry shaver adaptedfor use in very eflectively shaving whiskersfrom a desired skin area without the necessity of using water, shavingcream, soap, or the like.

It is further object to provide an improved manually operable dry shaveradapted to be operated entirely by the hand of a user carrying theshaver whereby to efiectively remove whiskers from a desired skin area.

It is a further object toprovide a device of the character set forth inthe preceding object, wherein the manually operable dry shaver is soconstructed and operates in a manner such that it does not require thatthe whiskersto be shaved by the device be moistened or have shavingcream, soap suds, or the like, applied thereto prior to and/or duringthe shaving operation.

It is a further object to provide a device of the characterset forth inany of the preceding objects, wherein the actual whisker-cuttingoperation is accomplished by meansof easily replaceable conventionalrazor blade means carried by the apparatus 'for arcuate movement withrespect to an arcuate whisker-receiving comb or screen.

i most portion of Fig. 2.

Patented May 9, 1961 hereinafter.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one exemplary form of the invention asseen from a position adjacent the head or shaving end of the device. Thehandle portions are shown in their most extreme open position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view of the dry shaver shownin Fig. ltaken centrally horizontally through the shaving end of thedevice and centrally horizontally through each of the handle portions ofthe device." I r Fig. 3 is a' fragmentary enlarged view of the lower-Fig. 4 is a longitudinal central sectional view similar to Fig. 2, butshows the handle portions in half-closed or intermediate position.

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the entire shaver (not in section)when it is in the intermediate position. shown in Fig. 4' and as'seenfrom the right side of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryenlarged view of the right razor blade mountingmeans shown in Fig. 4, and clearly showing the shaving cooperationthereof with respect to the concave inner surface of the comb .meanscurved in a manner comprising a portion of a cylinder, whereby toefiectively cut off the whiskers extending through the slotted aperturesin the comb means. r

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary outside elevational view of a portion of thecomb means showing the plurality of whisker-receiving slotted aperturestherein.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 4 but shows the handle portionin its extreme closed position ready for return to the extreme openposition shown in Fig. 2 after passing through the intermediate positionshown in Fig. 4 under the action of the handle biasing spring means.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the right hand razor blademounting means shown in Fig. 8, and clearly showing that one of therazor blades carried thereby has an oppositely projecting edge which isadapted for use in trimming side burns or conducting similar edging andshaving operations.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view similar to Figs. 4, 6, and 9 showing aslight modification of the razor blade means wherein only a single razorblade is carried by each mounting means.

w The improved manually operable dry shaver of the present'invention maybe said to include two longitudinal members, each having a handle end,an opposed head end, an intermediate portion, and pivot pin means inter-1 said pivot pin; the head end of a first one of said longitu- It is afurther object to provide a device of the characi ter set forth in anyof the preceding objects, which is of extremely simple, cheap, foolproofconstruction such'as .to be conducive to widespread use of the device.

dinal members being bifurcated substantially parallel to said pivot pinand being provided at its outer end most remote from said pivot pin witha transverse outwardly convex multi-apertured comb means comprising anon corrodible screen having a plurality of apertures therethrough, andwith said comb means being convexly shaped in a direction facing awayfrom said pivot pin and being correspondingly concavely shaped in adirection facing toward said pivot pin in a manner simulating a portionof a cylinder having an axis coincident with said pivot pin; the headend of a second one of said longitudinal members being bifurcatedsubstantially paral lel to said pivot pin and being provided at itsouter end' m0st remote from said pivot pin with transverse mountingmeans removably carrying razor blade means having straight cutting edgemeans positioned inside of. and in contact with the concave innersurface of said comb means in a position parallel to said pivot pinmeans,

a and with said cutting edge means bein 50 difectefl with respect tosaid comb means as to form at the hue of contact therewith with .respectto a plane tangent thereto an acute angle.

.In the specific embodiment illustrated in 'Figs.-1--9, theabove-mentioned two longitudinal members each take' .a specific form, asindicated generally at 20 and 21, each having a handle end as indicatedat 22 and 23, respectively, made of curved channel-shaped metal; eachhaving an intermediate portion as indicated at 24 and 25, respectively,interconnected by the doubly headed pivot pin 26 whereby to pivotallyinterconnect the longitudinal members 20 and 21; and also each having abifurcated head end, asindicated at 27 and 28, respectively. It will benoted that the outermost or larger bifurcated headend 27 carried by thelongitudinal member 20 is provided at its outer end most remote from thepivot pin 26 with a transverse outwardly convex multiapertured combmeans, indicated generally at 29, comprising a non-corrodible screen 30carried in arcuately spaced transversely directed end mounting members30A and provided with a plurality of appertures 31, which, in thespecific example illustrated, are slotted so as to be longer in anarcuate direction transverse to the pivot pin 26 than in a directionparallel to said pivot pin 26. This can be seen in Figs. 1 and and isclearly shown in Fig. 7. It should be noted that the outer surface ofthe comb means 29 is convexly shaped in a direction facing away from thepivot pin 26 and that the inner surfaceof said comb means 29 isconcavely shaped in a direction facing toward the pivot pin 26, andfurther that the curvature-of said comb means 29 is suchas to simulate aportion of a cylinder having an axis coincident with the pivot pin 26.

Also, in the specific embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-9, theabove-mentioned bifurcated head end 28 of the second longitudinal member21 is positioned within the bifurcated head end 27 of the firstlongitudinal member 20 and is provided at its outer end most remote fromthe pivot pin 26 and immediately inside of the concave inner surface ofthe comb means 29, with one specific form of the above-mentionedtransverse mounting means, which actually comprises two transversemounting means generally indicated at 32 and 33 and each arcuatelyspaced from each other in a direction transverse to the pivot pin 26 andeach removably carrying razor blade means, which in the specific exampleillustrated in Figs. l-9, comprises in each case a group or set of threeslightly angularly displaced razor blades indicated'by the singlereference numeral 34 and 35, respectively, with each group or set ofblades having correspondingly angularly slightly displaced straightcutting edges in corresponding groups of three indicated at 36 and 37,respectively, whereby the three slightly angularly dis placed cuttingedges 36 and the opposed set of three slightly displaced cutting edges37 all make individual slightly arcuately spaced straight-line contactwith the concave inner surface of the screen 30, as is best seen in Fig.3, with said straight-line contact comprising six individual blade edgeand screen contact lines allparallel to each other and to said pivot pin26, whereby movement of said cutting edges 36 and 37 arcuately along theconcave inner face of the comb means 29 will cause effective cutting orshearing of whiskers, such as those indicated at 38 in Fig. 6, extendingthrough the slotted apertures 31 along six shearing lines, thusproviding very effective and rapid shearing of the whiskers 38. Itshould be clearly noted that each of the blades 34 and 35;, and thecorresponding cutting edges 36 and 37, is inclined with respect to thetangent ,of the line of contact thereof with the concave comb means 29so as to form -there-: with an acute angle, thus providing a veryeffective whisker-cutting mounting of the blades.

The razor blade mounting means indicated generally 4 at 32 and 33comprises two transverse members 51 carried by the bifurcated members 28and two corresponding inner plates 39 and 40, respectively, adapted toabut opposite surfaces of the mounted blades 34 and 35 and to be rigidlyforced thereagainst by the action of corresponding interiorly threadedthumb nuts 41 and 42 engageable with the exteriorly threaded upwardlydirected projections 43 and 44 respectively carried by each of themembers 51 and adapted to extend through the conventional centrallyapertured portion of the razor blades 34 and 35; the rigid clampingaction thus produced being such as to effectively hold each set of threerazor blades 34 and 35, respectively, in the slightly displacedpositions described hereinbefore and best shown in Fig. 3.

Incidentally, it should be noted that one of the razor blades of the set35 has a rear edge 45 extending beyond the mounting means 33 whereby itmay be used for trimming sideburns or for other edging purposes when theinner bifurcated head 28 is in the extreme closed position shown in Fig.8.

In the specific example illustrated in 'Figs. l-9, the longitudinalmembers 20 and 21 are provided with spring means for effectively biasingthe handle ends 22 and 23 apart. In the form illustrated, said springmeans includes a central coiled portion 46 mounted on the pivot pin 26and having two extended ends 47 and 48 abutting the insides of thehandle ends 22 and 23, respectively, and biasing them apart into theextreme open position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where stop means 49carried by the bifurcated head end 27 is abutted by .the bifurcated headend 28 under the action of the biasing spring just described so as tonormally maintain the shaver in the extreme open position shown in Figs.1 and 2. It will be noted that the extreme closed position is determinedby an additional stop member 50' carried by the handle end 22 andadapted to abut the other handle end 23 when they are in the extremeclosed position shown in Fig. 8.

The operation of the improved manually operable dry shaver of thepresent invention may be briefly described as follows. A user of thedevice grasps it in one hand with the handle end 22 abutting the palm ofhis hand and with the handle end 23 engaged by the opposed fingers ofhis hand. Then the comb means 29 is placed against the skin area whichis to have whiskers shaved therefrom and is moved along the surfacethereof so as to draw the skin taut and to cause the whiskers 38 toextend through the apertures 31 in the comb means 29 in the manner bestshown in the fragmentary view comprising Fig. 6, and the handle end 23is then pulled toward the handle end 22 by the fingers of the user ofthe device so as to arcuately move the two sets of razor blade cuttingedge means 36 and 37 along the concave inner surface of the comb means29 so as to effectively shear ofi the whiskers 38. This oscillatorymovement of the handle end 23 under the control of the fingers .of theuser of the dry shaver may be repeated as the comb means 29 is movedover the skin area to be shaved. For example, I have found thatoscillating the handle end 23 and the blade edge means 36 and 37 atabout four cycles per second provides very effective and quite rapidshaving and is convenient and easy to maintain for the time necessary tocomplete a normal face-shaving operation.

Fig. 10 is a view very similar to Fig. 6 and illustrates a slightmodification of the invention wherein the razor blade mounting means 33'carries a single conventional type razor blade 35 adapted to have asingle straight cutting edge 37' in contact with the concave innersurface of the comb means, such as that shown at 29 in Fig. 6. It willbe understood that this single razor blade per mounting means form ofthe invention shown in Fig. 10 may be included in a razor of the typeshown in Figs. 1-9 having two arcuately spaced razor blade mountingmeans each carrying such a single razor blade as that shown at 35, or itmay be included in a razor of the general type shown in Figs. l-9, butwherein one of the razor blade mounting means and the razor blade meanscarried thereby is eliminated entirely.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific descriptionthereof set forth in this application are for the purpose ofillustrating the present invention and are not to be construed aslimiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specificstructure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore.Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantiallyequivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventiveconcept of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A manually operable shaver, comprising: twolongitudinal members eachhaving a handle end, an opposed head end, an intermediate portion, and apivot pin pivotally interconnecting said intermediate portions with thehead ends on one side of said pivot pin and the handle ends on theopposite side of said pivot pin, the head end of a first one of saidlongitudinal members being bifurcated substantially parallel to saidpivot pin and being provided at its outer end most remote from saidpivot pin with a transverse outwardly convex multiapertured comb meanscomprising a non-corrodible screen having a plurality of aperturestherethrough, said comb means being convexly shaped in a mannersimulating a portion of a cylinder having an axis coincident with saidpivot pin, the head end of a second one of said 1ongitudinal membersbeing bifurcated substantially parallel to said pivot pin and beingprovided at its outer end most remote from said pivot pin with twotransverse mounting means arcuately spaced from each other in adirection transverse to said pivot pin and each removably carryingindividual razor blade means having straight cutting edge meanspositioned inside of and in contact with the concave inner surface ofsaid comb means in a position parallel to said pivot pin means and witheach of said cutting edge means being substantially oppositely sodirected with respect to said comb means as to form at the line ofcontact therewith with respect to a plane tangent thereto an acute angleand opposed to and converging toward a similar acute angle formed by theother cutting edge means and a plane tangent to the line of contacttherewith with saidcomb means.

2. A manually operable dry shaver, comprising: two longitudinal memberseach having a handle end, an opposed head end, an intermediate portion,and a.pivot pin pivotally interconnecting said intermediate portionswith the head ends on one side of said pivot pin and the handle ends onthe opposite side of said pivot pin; biasing spring means having acoiled central portion mounted on said pivot pin and having two extendedends abutting the insides of said handle ends of said longitudinalmembers and biasing them apart; stop means carried by one of said headends in a position for abutment with the other of said head ends forlimiting relai tive arcuate movement thereof under the action of'saidbiasing spring means; the head end of a first one of said longitudinalmembers being bifurcated substantially parallel to said pivot pin andbeing provided at its outer end most remotefrom said pivot pin with atransverse outwardly convex multi-apertured comb means comprising anon-c0rr0dible screen having a plurality of slotted aperturestherethrough, each of said slotted apertures in said comb means beinglonger in a direction transverse to said pivot pin than in a direct-ionparallel'to said pivot pin, said comb means being convexly shaped in amanner simulating a portion of a cylinder having an axis coincident withsaid pivot pin, the head end of a second one of said longitudinalmembers being bifurcated substantially parallel to said pivot pin andbeing provided at its outer end most remote from said pivot pin with.two transverse mounting means arcuately spaced from each other in adirection transverse to said pivot pin and each removably carryingindividual razor blade means having straight cutting edge meanspositioned inside of and in contact with the concave inner surface ofsaid comb means in a position parallel to said pivot pin means and witheach of said cutting edge means being substantially oppositely sodirected with respect to said comb means as to form at the line ofcontact therewith with respect to a plane tangent thereto an acute angleandopposed to and converging toward a similar acute angle formed by theother cutting edge means and a plane tangent to the line of contacttherewith with said comb means; each of said transverse mounting meansbeing provided with controllably'en gageable and disengageable means toallow removal and replacement of the corresponding razor blade means;each of said razor blade means carried by each of said transversemounting means including a plurality of individual razor blades eachhaving closely adjacent and slightly oifset similarly angularlyinclinedblade edges contacting the inner concave surface of said combmeans at closely arcuately spaced lines parallel to said pivot pin andparallel to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSAustria Dec. 14, 1953

